Weekend Review: Everything you missed and should know

Some of the biggest national club leagues around the world ended this week and we saw new champions being crowned. Among them were Fenerbahçe Opet, who triumphed in the Turkish Women’s Sultanlar Ligi, and Jastrzębski Węgiel, who topped the podium in the Polish Men’s PlusLiga.

The week also saw another team book its place in the 2023 FIVB Women’s Club World Championship – it was Brazil’s Dentil Praia Clube, who triumphed in the South American Club Championship in Uberlândia one week after winning the country's Superliga.

Italian fans will have to wait for a few more days to know their national champions as both series that will determine the winners of the country’s leagues are tied 2-2 and will require a fifth and decisive match. The Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile will end first, with Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano and Vero Volley Milano meeting on Monday, two days before Cucine Lube Civitanova and Itas Trentino clash in the SuperLega Credem Banca.

The Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour was in Madrid for a men-only Futures tournament this week and the Spanish team of Javier Huerta/Alejandro Huerta took gold in front of their home fans. There was some action on the sand too with the Preliminary Phase of the CEV Nations Cup in Gstaad and a stop of the NORCECA Continental Tour in Cuba.

Here’s our summary of what happened around the world over the last few days:

Volleyball

Fenerbahçe celebrate sixth Turkish title

Fenerbahçe Opet returned to the top of the podium in the Turkish Sultanlar Ligi after six years and claimed the title with a dominant performance against Eczacibasi Dynavit, winning the best-of-five series between the teams 3-0 with a five-set victory (28-26, 21-25, 25-21, 24-26, 15-8) on Thursday. One of the new faces of the Turkish national team in the upcoming Volleyball Nations League 2023, opposite Melissa Vargas was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Jastrzębski sweep Zaksa and win Polish PlusLiga

Jastrzębski Węgiel claimed their second national title in three seasons by winning the 2022-2023 edition of the Polish Men’s PlusLiga on Wednesday. The team overcame rivals Grupa Azoty ‘Zaksa’ Kędzierzyn-Koźle with three victories in the league’s best-of-five final series and clinched the title with a straight-set victory (25-15, 25-16, 25-13) led by middle blocker and Most Valuable Player Yuriy Gladyr. The Polish rivals will meet again on Saturday, this time in the SuperFinals of the CEV Champions League. Here's the recap produced by the Polish Federation.

Praia Clube claim South American title at home

Reigning Bazilian champions Dentil Praia Clube won the South American Club Championship for the second time on Sunday. Playing in front of their home fans in Uberlândia, Praia prevailed in a match of ups and downs to overcome Brazilian rivals Gerdau Minas in five sets (25-16, 17-25, 27-25, 12-25, 15-11) in a rematch of the Brazilian Superliga final, one week ago. With the victory, Praia are guaranteed in the 2023 FIVB Women's Club World Championship. Dominican star Brayelin Martínez was awarded as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Imoco and Vero Volley keep Lega Femminile’s title decision open

There were a lot of turnarounds in the Lega Pallavolo Serie A1 Femminile Finals this week and the decisive series in the Italian League will require a fifth match on Monday. Defending champions Prosecco Doc Imoco Conegliano started the week leading their series against Vero Volley Milano 1-0, but their opponents secured back-to-back victories over the week. With their backs against the wall, Imoco responded with a three-set (26-24, 25-20, 25-17) victory on Saturday to even the score 2-2. Here’s our report on the most recent encounter.

Lube and Trentino go to match five for the SuperLega title

The SuperLega Credem Banca Finals will go to a fifth and decisive match as well on Wednesday after Cucine Lube Civitanova and Itas Trentino tied with two wins apiece after the first four duels. Defending champions Lube entered match four on Friday in need of a victory to remain alive and stepped up to win 3-1 (25-18, 27-25, 20-25, 25-16) in front of their home fans and confirm the need for a match five to determine the winners of the Scudetto. Here’s our match report.

Beach Volleyball

Spanish brothers win Madrid Futures at home

Spanish brothers Javier and Alejandro Huerta topped the podium at this week’s men-only Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Madrid Futures. Playing in front of their home fans, the Spaniards defeated Germans Paul Henning and Sven Winter in the tie-breaker (17-21, 21-16, 15-9) to secure the title – Chinese Jie Li and Yanwei Wang took bronze and completed the podium. The European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) recapped the event.

Switzerland victorious at Nations Cup Pool F

The European Beach Volleyball Nations Cup started this weekend and Switzerland topped the competition in the men’s Pool F in Gstaad. The Swiss team formed by Adrian Heidrich/Leo Dillier and Quentin Métral/Yves Haussener overcame squads from Germany, Türkiye, Moldova and Luxembourg and topped the pool, securing a spot in the Finals. Here’s the information provided by the CEV.

Americans and Cubans take gold at NORCECA Tour stop

Teams from the United States and hosts Cuba claimed the gold medals in play in the second stop of the NORCECA Continental Tour, which was held in Varadero. Americans Katie Lindstrom and Teegan van Gunst secured the women’s title with a two-set (21-16, 21-19) victory over Mexicans Susana Torres and Atenas Gutierrez – their compatriots Geena Urango and Carly Skjodt took bronze. The men’s winners were Lázaro Portes and Daniel Martínez, who topped Americans Troy Field and Silila Tucker in the tie-breaker (21-18, 19-21, 15-10) – Beach Pro Tour regulars Jorge Alayo and Noslen Diaz of Cuba were third.